(2019-02-14). US Air Freight Company that Smuggled Weapons into Venezuela Linked to CIA "Black Site" Renditions. globalresearch.ca The parallels between aspects of the Contra scandal and the current situation in Venezuela are striking, particularly given the recent "outrage" voiced by mainstream media and prominent U.S. politicians over Maduro's refusal to allow U.S. "humanitarian aid" into the country….
(2019-02-14). Pompeo, Bolton, and Iran's "Fake Opposition" globalresearch.ca As Iranian people struggle for democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law, as well as preserving the national security and territorial integrity of their country, two main groups have emerged among the opposition to Iran's hardliners, …
(2019-02-14). Australian students endorse rallies to free Julian Assange. wsws.org "I'm going, because I believe Assange should be set free and he should be defended. All people should go to the rallies if they believe in democratic rights."
(2019-02-13). Venezuela Accuses U.S. of Secretly Shipping Arms After Weapons Found on Plane with Possible CIA Ties. democracynow.org 
A North Carolina-based air freight company has halted flights to Venezuela following a report by McClatchy linking it to possible arms smuggling. Last week, Venezuelan authorities claimed they had uncovered 19 assault weapons, 118 ammunition cartridges and 90 military-grade radio antennas on board a U.S.-owned plane that had flown from Miami into Valencia, Venezuela's third-largest city. The Boeing 767 is owned by a company called 21 Air based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The plane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between Miami and spots in Venezuela and Colombia since January 11, the day after Venezuelan…
(2019-02-13). What it Really Takes to Secure Peace in Afghanistan. zcomm.org Constant military surveillance of Afghans yields almost no real intelligence about the problems they face each day. An unusual group of volunteers uses a far different approach…
(2019-02-13). US Air Freight Company that Smuggled Weapons Into Venezuela Linked to CIA "Black Site" Renditions. mintpressnews.com The parallels between aspects of the Contra scandal and the current situation in Venezuela are striking, particularly given the recent "outrage" voiced by mainstream media and prominent U.S. politicians over Maduro's refusal to allow U.S. "humanitarian aid" into the country.
(2019-02-13). US Charges Air Force Counterintelligence Agent With Spying for Iran, Committing Cybercrimes. theantimedia.com (ZH) — A former US Air Force counterintelligence agent with access to top secret national defense information was charged with spying for Iran after she defected to the Islamic Republic and helped it target her former colleagues, according to a seven-count indictment made public on Wednesday (see below). According to prosecutors, Monica Elfriede Witt a.k.a. Fatemah Zahra, a.k.a. Narges …
(2019-02-13). ICJ Orders US to Repay Iran US$2B in Frozen Assets. telesurenglish.net The United States owes Iran US$2 billion in frozen assets, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled Wednesday, adding that Tehran can proceed with a bid to recover the impounded funds. | RELATED: | Trump Accuses Iran of Being Main Sponsor of Terrorism | On Wednesday, the 15-membered United Nations affiliate determined that the US claims and alleged terror…
(2019-02-13). US Company That Smuggled Weapons Into Venezuela Linked to CIA "Black Site" Renditions. theantimedia.com (MPN) — The parallels between aspects of the Contra scandal and the current situation in Venezuela are striking, particularly given the recent "outrage" voiced by mainstream media and prominent U.S. politicians over Maduro's refusal to allow U.S. "humanitarian aid" into the country. Two executives at the company that chartered the U.S. plane that was caught smuggling weapons …
(2019-02-13). Pentagon's 1st AI strategy vows to keep pace with Russia & China, wants help from tech. rt.com 
The Pentagon has issued its first AI strategy, where it pleads with tech giants to help boost military capabilities and catch up with Russia and China in developing artificial intelligence for military purposes. |
(2019-02-12). What it Really Takes to Secure Peace in Afghanistan. progressive.org Constant military surveillance of Afghans yields almost no real intelligence about the problems they face each day. An unusual group of volunteers uses a far different approach.
(2019-02-12). Unions See an Opening in the Wake of a Ruling That Was Supposed to Finish Them Off. theintercept.com 
At a conference in Washington, labor leaders said their losses following the Supreme Court's decision in Janus were not as severe as they had feared.
(2019-02-11). The Supreme Court Is Playing Favorites With Religion. aclu.org The court's recent decisions threaten religious neutrality — the "clearest command" of the Establishment Clause. | Last week, the Supreme Court permitted the state of Alabama to execute a Muslim man, Domineque Ray, without his religious advisor present. The court's 5-4 decision reversed an emergency lower-court order that had temporarily delayed the execution because of grave concerns that Alabama's pr…
(2019-02-08). In Alabama, a Muslim Man Was Denied the Presence of His Imam During His Execution. aclu.org The Supreme Court's ruling to move forward with Domineque Ray's execution violates the Establishment Clause's principle of religious neutrality. | Domineque Ray was pronounced dead last night at 10: 12 p.m. Thirty minutes prior, his execution by lethal injection began. | His last words were a proclamation of his Muslim faith in Arabic. But Ray's imam was missing from the room, despite Ray's repeated requests to the state for his imam's presence. In the days leading up to his death, Ray w…
(2019-02-08). Planned Parenthood: SCOTUS Halts Louisiana Abortion Law for Now, But Roe v. Wade Fate Uncertain. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a restrictive Louisiana anti-choice law from going into effect Thursday, in a major victory for reproductive rights advocates. The case was seen as a litmus test for determining whether millions of women across the nation will continue to have access to abortions. The divided court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of an emergency appeal by a Louisiana-based abortion provider, Hope Medical Group for Women, to temporarily block a Republican-backed law that could have left the state with just a single doctor legally allowed to perform abortions. The law requires doctors who perform abo…
(2019-02-08). Headlines for February 8, 2019. democracynow.org Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Louisiana Abortion Law, Green New Deal: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez & Sen. Markey Introduce Landmark Resolution, U.S. Spy Agencies: Saudi Crown Prince Said He Would Go After Khashoggi "With a Bullet", Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of "Extortion and Blackmail", Report: U.S.-Based Plane Caught Bringing Arms into Venezuela, U.S. Special Envoy Elliott Abrams Rules Out Negotiations with Maduro, Senate Judiciary Committee Narrowly Backs William Barr to Become Attorney General, Acting AG Matthew Whitaker to Testify on Capitol Hill, Arizona Prisoner Dies Weeks After Warning "I Am…
(2019-02-06). Ana María Archila: Brett Kavanaugh's Presence at SOTU Represented Failure of U.S. Democracy. democracynow.org 
As we continue to discuss President Trump's State of the Union, we are joined by Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy. She attended the address as a guest of New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In September, Archila made headlines when she, along with another woman, Maria Gallagher, confronted Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona in an elevator after he announced his support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Shortly after the confrontation, Sen. Flake called for a delay of the Senate vote pending a limited FBI investigation.
(2019-02-05). Trial of El Chapo Highlights Failure of U.S. War on Drugs, But Will U.S. Ever Be Held to Account? democracynow.org 
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the notorious Mexican drug kingpin, has been on trial in New York City for 11 weeks. A federal jury headed into deliberations yesterday after more than 200 hours of testimony at the Federal District Court in Brooklyn revealing the inner workings of the Sinaloa Cartel, the major drug trafficking organization run by El Chapo. Fifty-six witnesses took to the stand with stories of murder, violence, spying, widespread corruption and even one tale of the drug lord escaping arrest in 2014 by climbing naked through a sewer alongside a former lover. El Chapo faces 10 charges, including leading a…
(2019-01-16). Was that the Onion or Reuters Quoting Mike Pompeo on Venezuela? zcomm.org This Reuters article says "The Maduro regime is illegitimate and the United States will work diligently to restore a real democracy to that country," Pompeo told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he is on a tour of Middle East countries. " [emphasis added] The Onion might have simply changed "countries" above to "dictatorships" or, Read more…
(2019-01-10). Farewell to bblum6. zcomm.org Bill Blum passed away early last month in Virginia. Many Z Net readers will know his canonical book, Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII, or remember his regular newsletter Anti-Empire Report. My first contact with Bill came in 1995 when I wrote him about something he had written on the Cold War. Read more…
(2018-11-29). On Julian Assange and the Political Economy & future of Europe. zcomm.org Interview on the socio-economic transformations taking place within the core of the European Union and how much time is left until it disintegrates…
(2018-11-26). Crucifying Julian Assange. zcomm.org Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, journalist and editor-in-chief, Consortium, discuss efforts to force #WikiLeaks publisher, #JulianAssange, out of the Ecuador Embassy in London and extradite him to the USA to stand trial.